Jazz Age

01.31.13

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Baltimore Home For Sale

AP Photo

It's not Gatsby's mansion in West Egg, but it's a lot cheaper. F. Scott Fitzgerald's town house at 1307 Park Ave. in Baltimore can be yours for $450,000, and it looks as if it has retained many of its charm. Bathtub gin might be possible. He lived there from 1933 to 1935, part of that time with his wife Zelda, who was institutionalized for much of it. (She's often blamed for setting the couple's first Baltimore home on fire while burning papers in a fireplace.) Fitzgerald was also dealing with alcoholism and seeking help at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and had money problems during this period. When Tender Is the Night was published in 1934, it was considered a disappointment. The house was built in 1900 and has four bedrooms over four levels, including a basement, with two full bathrooms, two half baths, three decorative fireplaces, a garage, built-in bookshelves and a decorative plaque that certifies that Fitzgerald lived there. It's been on the market for four days, and an open house is scheduled on Feb. 3.